Custom summarization in categories

ABSTRACT

Systems, methods, and devices for modifying a summary cell for a set of organized cells are provided. In some embodiments, the summary cells may be modified by modification of the summary function, such that modification may include a function and/or text that is different than preexisting summary function options for a summary cell. In some embodiments, the modification of the summary cell for the set of organized cells may update summary cells for additional sets of organized cells using a corresponding function and/or text that is different than preexisting summary function.

BACKGROUND

The present disclosure relates generally to techniques for utilizingcustom summary functions for a summary cell in a table of a spreadsheetapplication.

This section is intended to introduce the reader to various aspects ofart that may be related to various aspects of the present disclosure,which are described and/or claimed below. This discussion is believed tobe helpful in providing the reader with background information tofacilitate a better understanding of the various aspects of the presentdisclosure. Accordingly, it should be understood that these statementsare to be read in this light, and not as admissions of prior art.

Various types of applications, such as spreadsheet applications,presentation applications, and word processing applications, may allow auser to generate and display data in the form of tables that includesrows and columns of cells. For example, a user may generate a tableusing a spreadsheet application in order to analyze a set ofquantitative or qualitative data. To facilitate in the analysis of data,a user may also organize the data by categorizing or grouping the celldata based on data commonalities. Moreover, the application may allowthe user to generate a summary cell that summarizes the organized datausing a summary function. Often, a summary cell formula includes apredefined summary function within the application, such as functionsthat mathematically manipulate a set of values including subtotal,average, minimum, maximum, and the like. For example, a mathematicalfunction used to summarize the data for the summary cell of a table mayprovide a value indicating the mathematical computation for the set oforganized data cells.

However, since the summary function may be predefined, the summaryformula options may be limited and dependent on the application (e.g.,application package provided by a manufacturer). Unfortunately, thepredefined summary functions may be inadequate for a user analyzing databeyond the limitations of the functions, such as the mathematicalfunctions provided by the application.

SUMMARY

A summary of certain embodiments disclosed herein is set forth below. Itshould be understood that these aspects are presented merely to providethe reader with a brief summary of these certain embodiments and thatthese aspects are not intended to limit the scope of this disclosure.Indeed, this disclosure may encompass a variety of aspects that may notbe set forth below.

Embodiments described herein are related to facilitating the use ofcustom summary functions for a summary cell providing a summary for anorganized set of data. After organizing cells of a spreadsheet table, asummary cell may be used to provide a summary for a set of the organizedcells. The summary cell may provide the summary based on a predefinedsummary function (e.g., a mathematical function). However, thepredefined summary function options may not efficiently or effectivelysummarize the set of organized cells for each user. In one such example,the summary function for the summary cell may be edited in an advancedediting mode, such that the function and its parameters may be modifiedby a user. In this manner, the summary function may be customized toprovide a suitable summary for a particular analysis of the data.

In another embodiment, summary cells for other sets of organized cellson the spreadsheet table may be automatically updated with acorresponding customized summary function upon the customization of thefirst summary cell. The automatic update of other summary cells mayoccur for summary cells in the same category of data, such as the samecolumn of the table. In this manner, the updated summary cells do nothave to be modified manually to provide the corresponding custom summaryfor their respective sets of organized data.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

Various aspects of this disclosure may be better understood upon readingthe following detailed description and upon reference to the drawings inwhich:

FIG. 1 is a block diagram of an electronic device that may benefit frommodifying a summary cell for a set of organized data, in accordance withan embodiment of the present disclosure;

FIG. 2 is a perspective view of a notebook computer representing anembodiment of the electronic device of FIG. 1, in accordance with anembodiment of the present disclosure;

FIG. 3 is a front view of a handheld device representing anotherembodiment of the electronic device of FIG. 1, in accordance with anembodiment of the present disclosure;

FIG. 4 is a front view of a hand-held tablet device representing anotherembodiment of the electronic device of FIG. 1 in accordance with anembodiment of the present disclosure;

FIG. 5 is a front view of a desktop computer representing anotherembodiment of the electronic device of FIG. 1, in accordance with anembodiment of the present disclosure;

FIG. 6 is a front view and side view of a wearable electronic devicerepresenting another embodiment of the electronic device of FIG. 1, inaccordance with an embodiment of the present disclosure;

FIG. 7 is a block diagram of a table of a spreadsheet application withthe table data organized based on a commonality, in accordance with anembodiment of the present disclosure;

FIG. 8 is a process flow diagram, illustrating a process for customizinga summary cell, in accordance with an embodiment of the presentdisclosure;

FIG. 9A is a block diagram of the organized table of FIG. 7 with arequest to edit a summary function of a summary cell, in accordance withan embodiment of the present disclosure;

FIG. 9B is a block diagram of a drop down arrow in response to therequest to edit the summary function of the summary cell of FIG. 9A, inaccordance with an embodiment of the present disclosure;

FIG. 9C is a block diagram of a request to view summarization optionsusing the drop down arrow of FIG. 9B, in accordance with an embodimentof the present disclosure;

FIG. 10A is a block diagram of the summarization options in a summaryfunction dialog box as a result of the request to view summarizationoptions, in accordance with an embodiment of the present disclosure;

FIG. 10B is a block diagram of a request to change a summary function inthe summarization options of FIG. 10A, in accordance with an embodimentof the present disclosure;

FIG. 10C is a block diagram of the selected summary option as a resultof the request to change the summary function of FIG. 10B, in accordancewith an embodiment of the present disclosure;

FIG. 10D is a block diagram of the summary cell providing a summaryusing the updated summary function of FIG. 10C, in accordance with anembodiment of the present disclosure;

FIG. 11A is a block diagram of a request to edit the summary functionfor a summary cell, in accordance with an embodiment of the presentdisclosure;

FIG. 11B is a block diagram of a formula box as a result of the requestto edit the summary options of the summary cell of FIG. 11A, inaccordance with an embodiment of the present disclosure;

FIG. 11C is a block diagram of an editable field in the formula box ofFIG. 11B, in accordance with an embodiment of the present disclosure;

FIG. 12A is a block diagram of a customized function selected for theformula box, in accordance with an embodiment of the present disclosure;

FIG. 12B is a block diagram of selecting a function for setting a firstsub-parameter of the customized function of FIG. 12A, in accordance withan embodiment of the present disclosure;

FIG. 12C is a block diagram of selecting a column for setting the rangefor the first sub-parameter of the customized function of FIG. 12B, inaccordance with an embodiment of the present disclosure;

FIG. 12D is a block diagram of the formula box updated based on thesetting of the first sub-parameter of the customized function of FIG.12C, in accordance with an embodiment of the present disclosure;

FIG. 13A is a block diagram of setting a second sub-parameter of thecustomized function of FIG. 12A, in accordance with an embodiment of thepresent disclosure;

FIG. 13B is a block diagram of selecting a column value for setting thesecond sub-parameter of the customized function of FIG. 13A, inaccordance with an embodiment of the present disclosure;

FIG. 13C is a block diagram of the formula box updated based on settingthe second sub-parameter of the customized function of FIG. 13B, inaccordance with an embodiment of the present disclosure;

FIG. 14A is a block diagram of a third sub-parameter of the customizedfunction of FIG. 12A, in accordance with an embodiment of the presentdisclosure;

FIG. 14B is a block diagram of selecting a column value for setting thethird sub-parameter of FIG. 12B, in accordance with an embodiment of thepresent disclosure;

FIG. 15 is a block diagram of the updated formula box updated based onthe edited and selected parameters of the customized function of FIG.12A, in accordance with an embodiment of the present disclosure;

FIG. 16 is a block diagram of an updated summary provided by thecustomized summary cell, in accordance with an embodiment of the presentdisclosure;

FIG. 17 is a process flow diagram, illustrating a process for indicatinga relevant set of data for a parameter of a customized function andautomatically updating a summary cell for one or more sets of organizedcells, in accordance with an embodiment of the present disclosure; and

FIG. 18 is a block diagram of an indication of relevant subsets of dataused for parameters of a customized function and updated summary cells,in accordance with an embodiment of the present disclosure.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF SPECIFIC EMBODIMENTS

One or more specific embodiments will be described below. In an effortto provide a concise description of these embodiments, not all featuresof an actual implementation are described in the specification. Itshould be appreciated that in the development of any such actualimplementation, as in any engineering or design project, numerousimplementation-specific decisions must be made to achieve thedevelopers' specific goals, such as compliance with system-related andbusiness-related constraints, which may vary from one implementation toanother. Moreover, it should be appreciated that such a developmenteffort might be complex and time consuming, but would nevertheless be aroutine undertaking of design, fabrication, and manufacture for those ofordinary skill having the benefit of this disclosure.

When introducing elements of various embodiments of the presentdisclosure, the articles “a,” “an,” and “the” are intended to mean thatthere are one or more of the elements. The terms “comprising,”“including,” and “having” are intended to be inclusive and mean thatthere may be additional elements other than the listed elements. In someembodiments, it should be understood that references to “one embodiment”or “an embodiment” of the present disclosure are not intended to beinterpreted as excluding the existence of additional embodiments thatalso incorporate the recited features.

The present disclosure is generally directed to enable modifying andcustomization of summary functions and formulas, such as formulas usedto implement one or more defined functions, to provide a summary for aset/sets of data. The ability to edit summary functions may improve thetype of quantitative or qualitative analysis typically performed for aset of data.

As discussed herein, in certain implementations, the customization ofsummary functions in a formula for a summary cell may include modifyinga summary function type and its parameters, such that different types offunctions (e.g., statistical, mathematical, etc.) and its parameters maybe selected based on the type of data analysis to be performed for theset of data. For example, rather than viewing a summary subtotal (e.g.,value provided by the SUM function), which may be the default summaryfunction used for a summary cell, a user may change the summary formulafor the set of organized data to include one or more functions (e.g.,MAX, MIN, COUNT, LOOKUP, etc.), such that the functions may becustomized summary functions rather than merely a set of predefinedsummary function options. Moreover, the parameters for the function maybe edited to reference particular subsets of cells or columns of cells.Further, the customization may include using text in conjunction withthe modified summary function. In certain embodiments, the customizationof a summary cell within a particular category, such as a column, mayresult in updating each of the other summary cells within the column fortheir respective sets of organized data. The updating of summary cellsfor each of the other sets of organized data may be performedalgorithmically based in part on the generation of the custom summarycell in the same column.

With the foregoing in mind, a general description of a variety ofsuitable electronic devices may employ the techniques described hereinto provide a customized summary using a modifiable summary function fora set of organized or grouped cells. Turning first to FIG. 1, anelectronic device 10 according to an embodiment of the presentdisclosure may include, among other things, one or more processor(s) 12,memory 14, nonvolatile storage 16, a display 18, input structures 22, aninput/output (I/O) interface 24, a network interface 26, and a powersource 29. The various functional blocks shown in FIG. 1 may includehardware elements (including circuitry), software elements (includingcomputer code stored on a non-transitory computer-readable medium) or acombination of both hardware and software elements. It should be notedthat FIG. 1 is merely one example of a particular implementation and isintended to illustrate the types of components that may be present inthe electronic device 10.

By way of example, the electronic device 10 may represent a blockdiagram of the notebook computer depicted in FIG. 2, the handheld devicedepicted in FIG. 3, the handheld device depicted in FIG. 4, the desktopcomputer depicted in FIG. 5, the wearable electronic device depicted inFIG. 6, or similar devices. It should be noted that the processor(s) 12and other related items in FIG. 1 may be generally referred to herein as“data processing circuitry.” Such data processing circuitry may beembodied wholly or in part as machine-readable instructions (e.g.,software or firmware), hardware, or any combination thereof.Furthermore, the data processing circuitry may be separate components,components of a single contained processing module (e.g., asystem-on-a-chip device), or may be incorporated wholly or partiallywithin any of the other elements within the electronic device 10.

In the electronic device 10 of FIG. 1, the display 18 may be anysuitable electronic display used to display image data (e.g., a liquidcrystal display (LCD) or an organic light emitting diode (OLED)display). In some examples, the display 18 may represent one of theinput structures 22, enabling users to interact with a user interface ofthe electronic device 10. In some embodiments, the electronic display 18may be a MultiTouch™ display that may detect multiple touches at once.Other input structures 22 of the electronic device 10 may includebuttons, keyboards, mice, trackpads, and the like. The I/O interface 24may enable electronic device 10 to interface with various otherelectronic devices (e.g., pressing a button to increase or decrease avolume level), as may the network interface 26.

The network interface 26 may include, for example, one or moreinterfaces for a personal area network (PAN), such as a Bluetoothnetwork, for a local area network (LAN), such as an 802.11x Wi-Finetwork, and/or for a wide area network (WAN), such as a 4G or LTEcellular network. The network interface 26 may also include one or moreinterfaces for, for example, broadband fixed wireless access networks(WiMAX), mobile broadband Wireless networks (mobile WiMAX), asynchronousdigital subscriber lines (e.g., ADSL, VDSL), digital videobroadcasting-terrestrial (DVB-T) and its extension DVB Handheld (DVB-H),ultra-Wideband (UWB), alternating current (AC) power lines, and soforth.

The processor(s) 12 and/or other data processing circuitry may executeinstructions and/or operate on data stored in the memory 14 and/ornonvolatile storage 16. In some embodiments, the processor(s) 12 of theelectronic device 10 of FIG. 1 may be operably coupled with the memory14 and the nonvolatile storage 16 to facilitate the use of theprocessors(s) 12 to implement various stored algorithms. As discussedherein, the algorithms may include algorithms to enable an advancedediting mode to customize a summary function and to provide a customizedsummary based on the edited summary function for a set of organizeddata. Additional algorithms may include an algorithm to update formulaswith custom summary functions for summary cells referencing other setsof organized data on the table, such that the updating is based on thefirst modified summary cell for a set of organized data. Such programsor instructions executed by the processor(s) 12 may be stored in anysuitable article of manufacture that includes one or more tangible,computer-readable media at least collectively storing the instructionsor routines, such as the memory 14 and the nonvolatile storage 16. Inanother embodiment, the processor(s) 12 may receive an indication of auser-selected commonality or category (e.g., data pertaining to a year,such as 2012, 2013, and so forth) for grouping cells, for example, bythe input structures 22. The processor(s) 12 may select thecategorization and update cell arrangement on the table based upon thisindication.

The memory 14 and the nonvolatile storage 16 may include any suitablearticles of manufacture for storing data and executable instructions,such as random-access memory, read-only memory, rewritable flash memory,hard drives, and optical discs. In addition, programs (e.g., anoperating system) encoded on such a computer program product may alsoinclude instructions that may be executed by the processor(s) 12 toenable the electronic device 10 to provide various functionalities. Byway of example, a computer program product containing the instructionsmay include an operating system (e.g., OS X® or iOS by Apple Inc.) or anapplication program (e.g., Numbers®, Pages®, or Keynote® by Apple Inc.)or a suite of such application programs (e.g., iWork® by Apple Inc.).

As further illustrated, the electronic device 10 may include a powersource 29. The power source 29 may include any suitable source of power,such as a rechargeable lithium polymer (Li-poly) battery and/or analternating current (AC) power converter.

In certain embodiments, the electronic device 10 may take the form of acomputer, a portable electronic device, a wearable electronic device, orother type of electronic device. Such computers may include computersthat are generally portable (such as laptop, notebook, and tabletcomputers) as well as computers that are generally used in one place(such as conventional desktop computers, workstations, and/or servers).In certain embodiments, the electronic device 10 in the form of acomputer may be a model of a MacBook®, MacBook® Pro, MacBook Air®,iMac®, Mac® mini, or Mac Pro® available from Apple Inc. By way ofexample, the electronic device 10, taking the form of a notebookcomputer 10A, is illustrated in FIG. 2. The depicted computer 10A mayinclude a housing or enclosure 36, a display 18, input structures 22,and ports of an I/O interface 24. In one embodiment, the inputstructures 22 (such as a keyboard and/or touchpad) may be used tointeract with the computer 10A, such as to start, control, or operate aGUI or applications running on computer 10A. For example, a keyboardand/or touchpad may allow a user to navigate a user interface orapplication interface (e.g., spreadsheet) displayed on display 18.

FIG. 3 depicts a front view of a handheld device 10B, which representsone embodiment of the electronic device 10. The handheld device 10B mayrepresent, for example, a portable phone, a media player, a personaldata organizer, a handheld game platform, or any combination of suchdevices. By way of example, the handheld device 10B may be a model of aniPod® or iPhone® available from Apple Inc. of Cupertino, Calif.

The handheld device 10B may include an enclosure 36 to protect interiorcomponents from physical damage and to shield them from electromagneticinterference. The enclosure 36 may surround the display 18, which maydisplay a graphical user interface (GUI) having an array of icons 32. Byway of example, one of the icons 32 may launch a spreadsheet applicationprogram (e.g., Numbers® by Apple Inc.). User input structures 22, incombination with the display 18, may allow a user to control thehandheld device 10B. For example, the input structures 22 may activateor deactivate the handheld device 10B, navigate a user interface to ahome screen, navigate a user interface to a user-configurableapplication screen, activate a voice-recognition feature, provide volumecontrol, and toggle between vibrate and ring modes. Touchscreen featuresof the display 18 of the handheld device 10B may provide a simplifiedapproach to controlling the spreadsheet application program. Thehandheld device 10B may include I/O interface 24 that opens through theenclosure 36. The I/O interface 24 may include, for example, an audiojack and/or a Lightning® port from Apple Inc. to connect to externaldevices, such as speakers and/or headphones.

FIG. 4 depicts a front view of a handheld tablet device 10C, whichrepresents another embodiment of the electronic device 10. The handheldtablet device 10C may represent, for example, a tablet computer, or oneof various portable computing devices. By way of example, the handheldtablet device 10C may be a tablet-sized embodiment of the electronicdevice 10, which may be, for example, a model of an iPad® available fromApple Inc. of Cupertino, California. The handheld tablet device 10C mayalso include an enclosure 36 that holds the electronic display 18. Inputstructures 22 may include, for example, a hardware or virtual homebutton.

Turning to FIG. 5, a computer 10D may represent another embodiment ofthe electronic device 10 of FIG. 1. The computer 10D may be anycomputer, such as a desktop computer, a server, or a notebook computer,but may also be a standalone media player or video gaming machine. Byway of example, the computer 10D may be an iMac®, a MacBook®, or othersimilar device by Apple Inc. It should be noted that the computer 10Dmay also represent a personal computer (PC) by another manufacturer. Asimilar enclosure 36 may be provided to protect and enclose internalcomponents of the computer 10D such as the display 18. In certainembodiments, a user of the computer 10D may interact with the computer10D using various peripheral input devices, such as the keyboard 22A ormouse 22B (e.g., input structures 22), which may connect to the computer10D. In one embodiment, the input structures 22 (e.g., a keyboard and/ortouchpad) may be used to interact with the computer 10D, such as tostart, control, or operate a GUI or applications (e.g., Numbers® byApple Inc.) running on the computer 10D.

Similarly, FIG. 6 depicts a wearable electronic device 10E representinganother embodiment of the electronic device 10 of FIG. 1 that may beoperate using the techniques described herein. By way of example, thewearable electronic device 10E, which may include a wristband 43, may bean Apple Watch® by Apple, Inc. More generally, the wearable electronicdevice 10E may be any wearable electronic device such as, for example, awearable exercise monitoring device (e.g., pedometer, accelerometer,heart rate monitor), or other device by another manufacturer. Thedisplay 18 of the wearable electronic device 10E may include a touchscreen display 18 (e.g., LCD, OLED display, active-matrix organic lightemitting diode (AMOLED) display, and so forth), as well as inputstructures 22, which may allow users to interact with a user interfaceof the wearable electronic device 10E.

Electronic devices 10A, 10B, 10C, 10D, and 10E described above may eachuse a spreadsheet application with a summary cell that may be customizedby modifying or editing the summary function of the summary formula toprovide a user defined summary for a set of organized data. In someembodiments, the custom summary cell for a particular set of organizedcells may generate an update to other summary cells in the same category(e.g., same column of the table) with corresponding custom summaryfunctions for their respective sets of organized cells.

With the preceding in mind, a variety of computer program products, suchas applications and/or operating systems executing on an electronicdevice 10, may use or implement the techniques discussed below toenhance the user experience on the electronic device 10. While thefollowing examples are provided in the context of a spreadsheetapplication, the present approaches are suitable for use in otherapplications (e.g., word processing applications, presentationapplications, address book or contact list applications, media storingor playback applications, and so forth) where tables of data may becreated, displayed, and updated.

For example, an electronic device 10 may store and run a spreadsheetapplication (e.g., Numbers® from Apple Inc.) or other suitableapplication configured to implement the custom summary function for asummary cell of a set of organized data and to correspondingly updateother summary cells within the same grouping (e.g., column of dataorganized by a particular category). The application may be stored asone or more executable routines (which may encode and implement theactions described below) in memory and/or storage of FIG. 1. Theseroutines, when executed, may cause the electronic device 10 to rendersummary cells as editable to facilitate in the customization of thesummary provided by the summary cell for its set of organized data inaccordance with the techniques described herein.

Turning now to a discussion of data of a table that may be organized andmay include a summary cell to present a summary for the organized data,FIG. 7 illustrates a block diagram depicting a spreadsheet application,which includes a table 50 having rows 52 and columns 54 of cells. In thedepicted example, the table 50 is populated by a set of data related tofinancial and business data, though examples of other suitable data mayinclude sports data, demographic data, medical data, or any other typeof data.

In some implementations, the spreadsheet may include an organizationinterface (not explicitly shown), such as buttons, menus, drop downboxes, and so forth, that may allow a user to interact and invokevarious functions within the spreadsheet application. Such functions mayinclude enabling filtering or grouping of data in rows 52 and/or columns54 of table 50. The grouping may include organizing the datanumerically, alphabetically, or based on a commonality. In the depictedspreadsheet, the data of table 50 has been organized or grouped by acommonality of “Category.” Thus, the cells of table 50 are organized bycategory (e.g., years 2012, 2013, 2014, etc.). However, in otherimplementations, the table 50 may be organized or reorganized by othercommonalities, such as by other values of header row 57 including“Symbol,” “Company,” “Short/Long,” “Shares Sold,” “Purchase Price,”“Sale Price,” “Gross” profit, “Profit/Loss,” “Tax Rate,” “Tax onProfit,” or “Proceeds After Tax.” After the cell data of table 50 hasbeen organized, such as by category of year, a user may enable a summarycell to provide a summary for each of the categorized sets of organizeddata.

Turning now to a more detailed discussion of a summary cell that mayprovide a summary for a set of organized data that may benefit fromcustomization of the summary provided, process 55 flow diagram of FIG. 8illustrates customizing a summary cell. In one embodiment, a table 50with sets of organized data (e.g., by a year) may be initially presentor displayed on an application (e.g., spreadsheet application). Thetable 50 may include a summary cell or an option to generate a summarycell for each set of organized cells. The process may include receiving(block 58) a request to modify a summary cell for a set of organizedcells.

To illustrate, FIG. 9A depicts the organized table 50 with a userrequesting to generate a summary cell. As shown, organized table 50 mayinclude an organization header indicating the unique category valuepertaining to the set of data. By way of example, and as depicted, afirst group header 51 may be used to indicate summary values, for itsparticular set of organized data (e.g., rows of data related to the year2012). Similarly, a second group header 53 may indicate summary valuesof year 2013 and a third group header 59 may indicate summary values ofyear 2014 for their respective sets of organized data. Within the rowgroup headers 51, 53, 59, each column 54 of the sets of organized datamay include a summary cell 68 that provides a summary of the organizeddata within the context of a column. By way of example, a customizedsummary cell 71 (e.g., a summary cell 68 that may be customized usingtechniques described herein) may provide a summary for subset 63 ofcells (I9-I16) of the set of organized cells for 2013.

To generate a summary formula for summary cell 68, a user may select 64(such as by using a mouse, touch screen, or other suitable inputmechanism) a summary cell 68. In the current embodiment, customizedsummary cell 71 has been selected 64 to provide a summary of column I96, indicating “Gross” profits, for the year 2013. As shown in FIG. 9B,upon selecting 64 the customized summary cell 71, a drop down arrow 65may appear. The drop down arrow 65 may be used to modify the summaryprovided for the set of organized data by selecting and/or switchingbetween predefined summary functions. To illustrate, FIG. 9C depicts auser selecting 64 (e.g., via mouse) the drop down arrow 65 to request aview of summarization options.

Turning back to FIG. 8, the process of generating a custom summaryfunction may include, in response to receiving the request to modify thesummary cell 68, displaying (block 60) a summary function dialog boxincluding input entry options. The input entry options may be variousfunctions used to provide a particular summary for a set of organizeddata (e.g., summary for subset of cells pertaining to gross values inthe year of 2013).

To illustrate, FIG. 10A depicts the input entry options 83 of a summaryfunction dialog box 80 that appears upon a request to modify thecustomized summary cell 71. The summary function dialog box 80 mayinclude summary option types including a category name, a blank cell, orone of various mathematical formulas (such as formulas to determine asum or difference, over a range or subset of cells) and/or statisticalformulas (such as formulas to determine an average, median, maximum,minimum, or mode, over a range of cells). As depicted in the currentembodiment, the input entry options 83 may indicate the presentlyselected summary function (shown by a box around one of the input entryoptions 83), such as an automatic function 82. The automatic function 82may be a default or preselected function of the application. Forexample, the preselected function may be selected and set by amanufacturer producing the spreadsheet application or preset by a user.In the some implementations, the automatic function 82 may default to ablank box.

Turning back to FIG. 8, the process to generate a custom summary cell 68may include, receiving (block 62), at the summary function dialog box80, an indication of one or more input entries options 83 to a summaryfunction made through the summary function dialog box 80. To illustrate,FIG. 10B depicts a request to modify a summary function in the inputentry options 83. The summary provided by a summary cell 68 may beautomatic, such as to automatically provide a blank box, which may bemodified by a user selecting 64 a different function of the input entryoptions 83. In the current implementation, input entry options 83include category name, blank, and mathematical functions includingsubtotal, average, min, max, and count. As shown, a user has selected 64the subtotal function 86 to be used for summarizing the set of organizeddata of customized summary cell 71. Upon selection, the input entryoptions 83 may be updated to indicate that customized summary cell 71presently provides a summary using the subtotal function 86 (shown by abox around the subtotal of the input entry options 83) rather than thepreviously selected automatic function 82, as shown in FIG. 10C.Accordingly, as shown in FIG. 10D, the customized summary cell 71 mayprovide a summary using the updated summary option. In particular, thecustomized summary cell 71 value that automatically provided a blank boxas a summary is updated to provide a subtotal summary of “$23,096,”reflecting the subtotal of subset 63 of cells I9-I16 pertaining to grossprofit in 2013.

Moreover, upon selecting a summary cell 68 of table 50, a summaryindicator 92 may appear at the bottom of the application. The summaryindicator 92 may indicate the summary function applied to the selectedsummary cell 68 and/or the summary value. In the current implementation,the summary indicator 92 indicates that the function for selectedcustomized summary cell 71 includes the subtotal function and has avalue of $23,096.55. In this manner, a user may select 64 a summary cell68 to view the function providing the associated summary.

However, the functions of the input entry options 83 for a summary cell68 may be limited, such as to only predefined mathematical functions.The limited functions may not allow a user to thoroughly or effectivelyanalyze data of table 50, and thus, an option to modify and customizethe summary formula and its summary functions may be beneficial. Toillustrate, FIG. 11A depicts a request to edit summary functions (e.g.,by a user double selecting 94/double clicking using a mouse or touchpad) the customized summary cell 71. Double selecting 94 may result inentering an advanced editing mode, which may allow a user to modify andedit summary functions of a summary formula.

Upon selection of the request to modify the summary function, a view ofthe formula used for the summary function may appear, as depicted inFIG. 11B. As shown, a formula box 98 may appear upon the request to editthe subtotal function in advanced mode. The formula box 98 may indicatethe formula used to calculate the output value for a summary function,such that the formula may include one or more function parameters 101and/or one or more function sub-parameters 99 of the function parameter101. In the current example, the formula box 98 indicates that asubtotal is calculated using a SUM (e.g., summation) function parameter101 of column I 96 sub-parameter 99. Thus, the subtotal of $23,096.55 iscalculated by a SUM of the values in column I 96 for the customizedsummary cell's 71 set of organized data (e.g., subset 63 of cellsI9-I16).

Moreover, upon the request to edit the summary function of a summarycell 68, the range or subset of cells that are associated with summarycell being edited, such as customized summary cell 71, may be indicatedto the user by a graphical shading, border, or box around the subset ofcells. In the current implementation, customized subset box 97 indicatesthat the boxed subset 63 of cells correspond to the summary function ofcustomized summary cell 71. In some implementations, and as discussed indetail in FIG. 17, summary cells 68 for additional relevant subsets ofcells in the same category (e.g., column I 96) may be updated withcorresponding edits to their respective summary functions. Theadditional relevant subset of cells used for the other summary cells 68affected, may also be indicated to the user, such as by a lightergraphical shading for the additional relevant subset of cells withrespect to relatively darker graphical shading of the subset of cellsbeing edited (e.g., customized subset box 97), lighter weight of bordersor boxes 95 around the additional relevant subset of cells, lightercolor of the borders or boxes 95 around the additional relevant subsetof cells, or lighter pattern of the borders or boxes 95 around theadditional relevant subset of cells.

However, as previously mentioned, a summary using the prepackagedfunctions may be limited, and thus, editing the summary function may bebeneficial, such that one or more function parameters 101 and/or one ormore sub-parameters 99 may be edited. As shown in FIG. 11C, the formulabox 98 may be editable in advanced mode, such that an editable field 103may appear upon the selection of the formula box 98. To detail theparameters of the formula box 98 that may be edited, FIG. 12Aillustrates a formula box 98 with a selected customized function 102.The customized function 102 may be selected from a list of customizedfunction options (e.g., options 105), which may include each functionavailable in the spreadsheet application, such as engineering functions,financial functions, numerical functions, statistical functions, and soforth.

In some implementations, the customized function options 105 may includeone or more functions not preexisting in the input entry options 83.However, in other implementations, the customized function 102 mayinclude functions that are preexisting in the input entry options 83,but that are edited or combined in a manner that results in them beingdifferent than the preexisting input entry options 83 that are nototherwise editable.

In the current implementation, a user has selected the customizedfunction 102 to include a LOOKUP function as the function parameter 101of the formula in formula box 98. Depending on the customized function102 selected, corresponding sub-parameters 99 used to calculate theoutput for the customized function 102 based on the function parameter101, such as the LOOKUP function, may be automatically populated. By wayof example, and as shown in the current embodiment, the LOOKUP functionmay use three parameters to calculate a LOOKUP output. Thus, upon theselection of the LOOKUP function as the function parameter 101 of thecustomized function 102, three corresponding sub-parameters 99 includinga “search-for” first sub-parameter 106, a “search-where” secondsub-parameter 108, and a “result-value” third sub-parameter 110, mayappear in the formula box 98.

Briefly, the LOOKUP function may be used to find a match of a searchvalue in a particular range of cells to find the searched value in asecond range of cells. In doing so, the “search-for” first sub-parameter106 may be used to set a value to be searched for within the first rangeof cells. The “search-where” second sub-parameter 108 may be used as therange (e.g., column of values for a set of grouped data) in which the“search-for” value is found. Moreover, the “result-values” thirdsub-parameter 110 may include the value to be returned based on thesearch using the “search-where” first sub-parameter 106 and “search-for”second sub-parameter 108. A user may select (e.g., by a mouse or touchpad) the parameters of the customized function 102 (e.g., firstsub-parameter 106, second sub-parameter 108, and third sub-parameter110) to change or set the value. In the current implementation, a userhas selected 64 (not explicitly shown) the “search for” firstsub-parameter 106.

FIG. 12B illustrates setting a function of the first sub-parameter 106of the customized function 102, such as the LOOKUP function. As shown, auser may set a first sub-parameter function 109 and first sub-parameterrange 111 of the first sub-parameter 106 (e.g., parameters of the“search where” first sub-parameter 106). Here, the first sub-parameterfunction 109 is set to MAX, such as by selecting from the list ofcustomized function options 105. Thus, the “search-where” firstsub-parameter 106 may determine the MAX value for the firstsub-parameter range 111.

The first sub-parameter range 111 of the first sub-parameter 106 may beset using a column value, as shown in FIG. 12C. Here, a user selects 64cell Ill in column I 96. As a result of selecting any cell within columnI 96, the first sub-parameter range 111 may be set with the range ofcolumn I 96. Briefly, and as discussed in detail in FIG. 17, any cellselected within a column 54 (e.g., cell in column 54 including othersets of organized data) to set a parameter, such as the firstsub-parameter range 111, may result in setting the parameter with therespective column 54. Accordingly, and as shown in FIG. 12D, the formulabox 98 for the summary is updated based on the set “search-for” firstsub-parameters 106 of the customized function 102. Thus, the“search-for” may result in searching for the maximum value of column Iin subset 63, which is $5,790.48 of cell I11.

Next, the second sub-parameter 108 of the customized function 102 may beset by selecting a column value, as shown in FIG. 13A. As shown, a usermay select 64 the “search-where” second sub-parameter 108. As a result,the “search-where” second sub-parameter 108 may be highlighted (notshown) to indicate that the parameter is being edited. As shown in FIG.13B, a column 54 value may be used to set the second sub-parameter 108of the customized function 102. Here, a user selects 64 cell I5, whichis in a different subset of cells than the subset 63 of cells pertainingto customized summary cell 71. However, as previously described, theselection may result in setting the second sub-parameter 108 with arange of column I 96, as shown in FIG. 13C. Thus, the “search-where” mayresult in searching for a cell with the “search-for” value of $5,790.48in column I of subset 63 of cells, which results in cell I11.

Similarly, the third sub-parameter 110 of the customized function 102may be set, as shown in FIG. 14A. A user may select 64 the“result-values” third sub-parameter 110, such that the field may becomeeditable. After selecting 64 the third sub-parameter 110, the user mayselect 64 the range of cells to set the third sub-parameter 110. Aspreviously mentioned, the “result-value” parameter of the LOOKUPfunction includes searching for a value set by the first and secondsub-parameters 106, 108 (e.g., the maximum number of column I 96 that isin column I 96, resulting in cell I11 in a range of cells). In thecurrent embodiment, the user selects 64 cell F13 that has a value of 8for the range of cells. As shown in FIG. 14B, upon the selection of cellF13, column F 140 may be set as the third sub-parameter 110.

Turning back to FIG. 8, the process 55 to customize a summary cell mayinclude applying (block 64) the one or more input entries to a summaryfunction for the summary cell, and evaluating the summary function toobtain a summary function result for the summary cell 68. Morespecifically, once a function and its parameters are set for a summarycell 68 while in advanced editing mode, as described in FIGS. 12A-14B,the summary may be calculated using the new parameters and provide anupdated summary.

To illustrate, FIG. 15 depicts an updated formula box 98 based on editedand selected parameters for the customized function 102 for customizedsummary cell 71. As previously discussed, the customized function 102includes a LOOKUP function with its particular parameters set to a“search-for” value of $5,790.48 and a “search-where” value of column I96, resulting in cell I11, and a “result-value” of column F 140. Thus,the “result-value” may include a resulting cell in column F 140corresponding to cell I11.

Accordingly, these parameters may be applied to the customized function102 to provide the custom summary for the customized summary cell 71. Asshown in the current embodiment, the customized function 102 may includemore than one function (e.g., different than or more than one LOOKUPfunction), and may also include text.

As depicted, text or additional functions may be combined for thecustomized function 102 of a summary cell 68, such as customized summarycell 71. The additional text or function may be joined together by a “&”156 operator, which is used to join two or more strings (e.g., outputvalue from a function) in a formula. Here, the LOOKUP function iscombined, such as by the & operator, to text 157. The text includes“shares of,” which is further combined with a second customized function150. In the current implementation, the second customized function 150may include a second LOOKUP function, and the parameters may be setusing the techniques described herein. Thus, the second customizedfunction 150 includes a “search for” value of $5,790.48 and a “searchwhere” value of column I, resulting in cell I11, and a “result-value” ofcolumn C 152. Here, a user has selected 64 cell C10 for the“result-value” third sub-parameter 110 of the second customized function150, resulting in selecting all of column C 152 to find thecorresponding cell in column C 152 for cell I11. Thus, the“result-value” may be the value in cell C11.

Accordingly, and turning back to FIG. 8, the process 55 of customizing asummary cell 68 may include presenting (block 66) the summary functionresult in the summary cell 68. In particular, a summary cell 68 maypresent the custom summary after evaluating the customized function 102to determine a result for the summary cell 68. To illustrate, FIG. 16depicts an updated summary for customized summary cell 71. Specifically,the summary of 15 shares of ZZZ for customized summary cell 71 isprovided using the customized formula of customized functions 102 andtexts, as previously described in FIG. 15. Thus, editing the summaryformula of formula box 98, such as by entering the advanced editingmode, may allow using custom or unique formulas and functions to providea summary for a set of organized data.

Additionally, summary indicator 92 that indicates the summary functionapplied and/or value of a selected summary cell 68, may be updated toreflect the customization of a summary cell 68. By way of example, uponthe selection of the customized summary cell 71, the summary indicator92 may be updated from its previous state indicating a “subtotal”summary function to a “custom” function. In this manner, the summaryindicator 92 may indicate in the GUI that a presented summary (e.g., 15shares of ZZZ) for the selected customized summary cell 71 is acustomized function 102. However, in some embodiments, the “custom”indication may not be present until the customization of a summary cell68 is completed, such as by selecting an OK button or check button onthe formula box 98 after setting each function parameters. When thesummary cell 68 is being edited, the summary indicator 92 may include a“value” for the summary function indication and “any value or collectioncontaining any values” for the value indication. This indication maysignal to a user that the selected summary cell 68 is being edited ormodified.

Moreover, process 55 of FIG. 8 to customize a summary cell may include,in some embodiments, updating (block 69) one or more relevant ranges tothe edited summary function for additional sets of organized cells andevaluate the updated summary functions to obtain summary functionresults for each of the additional sets of organized cells. Thus, uponthe customization of a summary cell 68 (e.g., customized summary cell71) within a category (e.g., column 54) of table 50, other summary cells68 for sets of organized data within the same category, such as foryears 2012 and 2014, may also be updated with the same customizedfunctions 102 and/or texts in its summary formula. After updating therelevant ranges with the custom summary function, the process 55 maypresent (block 70) the summary function results in summary cells 68associated with the additional sets of organized cells.

By way of example, and as depicted in FIG. 16, the formula and summaryfunctions of updated summary cell 161 for year 2012 and updated summarycell 162 for year 2014 may be automatically updated to provide a summarycorresponding to the customized functions 102 and texts of customizedsummary cell 71. Thus, the automatic update of the summary function ofupdated summary cell 161 may provide a summary of “12 shares of ZZZ.”Specifically, the first LOOKUP function providing the “12” in thesummary value may be determined by the corresponding customized function102 that includes a “search-for” value of $4,956.95 (e.g., MAX value incolumn I 96) and a “search-where” value of column I 96, resulting incell 17, and a “result-value” of column F 140, resulting in value of 12.The “shares-of” in the summary may be the text edited by the user forcustomized summary cell 71 and combined using the “&” operator asdiscussed above. Moreover, the “ZZZ” value indicating company nameZiggurat may be determined by the corresponding second LOOKUP functionwith a “search-for” value of $4,956.95 (e.g., MAX value in column I 96)and a “search-where” value of column I 96, resulting in cell 17, and a“result-value” of column C 152, resulting in value of “ZZZ.” Similarly,the summary of updated summary cell 162 as a result of the customizationof customized summary cell 71 may result in providing a summary of “17shares of ZZZ.”

Turning now to a more detailed discussion of indicating a relevant setof data for a parameter of a customized function 102 and automaticallyupdating corresponding parameters for updated summary cells 161, 162,FIG. 17 illustrates a process 170 flow diagram for the indication ofrelevant sets of data and automatically modifying the summary formulasand functions for updated summary cells 161, 162. In one embodiment,when a user is in advanced editing mode and editing the parameters of acustomized function 102, the process 170 may include receiving (block172) a selection of a parameter for use in the summary function. Forexample, and as shown in FIG. 18, a selection of parameters (e.g.,customized function 102 and second customized function 150 parametersusing column I 96, column F 140, and column C 152) may be set forcustomized summary cell 71. In response to the selected parameters, theprocess 170 may include identifying (block 176) a relevant subset of theorganized cells and then continue with applying (block 178) the relevantsubset as the parameter for the summary function. Thus, the parametervalues to be considered (e.g., column I 96) may be narrowed to thesubset of organized cells, such as cells for year 2013.

Turning back to FIG. 17, after applying the relevant subset as theparameter of the summary function, the process 170 may provide (block180) a first indication of the relevant subset via the graphical userinterface. The indication may include, but is not limited to, shadingthe relevant subset, highlighting the relevant subset, bolding the fontwithin the relevant subset, bordering the relevant subset, and/or boxingthe relevant subset. As illustrated in FIG. 18, although the entirecolumns I 96, F 140, and C 152 are selected as parameters for customizedsummary cell 71, which is in category 2013, the summary output may takeinto consideration the parameters within the relevant subset of cellsfor year 2013. Thus, the customized function 102 and second customizedfunction 150 of the customized summary cell 71 for year 2013 mayconsider subset 63 for parameters using column I 96, subset 181 forparameters using column F 140, and subset 183 for parameters usingcolumn C 152. Here, to provide a GUI indication of the relevant subsetconsidered for the parameters, a thick border appears around the cells.

Moreover, in some embodiments, in response to a selection of a parameterfor use in the summary function, process 170 of FIG. 17 may identify(block 182) additional relevant subsets of additional sets of organizedcells. Thus, after receiving selection of parameters for use in thesummary function for customized summary cell 71, such as by selecting aparticular column 54 for a parameter of customized function 102, theprocess 170 may identify the same parameters to be used for a summaryfunction for the additional sets of data in the same column 54. Thus,corresponding subset parameters may be identified for the additionalsets of grouped data for a category. Here, the category is “gross”profits and grouping is based on years, so the summary cells 68providing a summary of “gross” profits for 2012 and 2014 may beidentified.

Once the relevant additional subsets are identified, the process 170 ofFIG. 17 applies (block 184) the relevant additional subsets asparameters for the summary functions of the additional sets of organizedcells. Thus, the identified parameters may be used for the correspondingcustomization (e.g., customized functions 102 and/or texts), such as toprovide updated summaries for updated summary cells 161 and 162 of FIG.16.

Moreover, in some embodiments, process 170 of FIG. 17 may provide (block186) a second indication of the additional relevant subsets via thegraphical user interface. For example, identification may be indicatedto the user, such as by shading, highlighting, or applying a borderaround the additional subset of cells. By way of example, FIG. 18illustrates the identified parameter selections for years 2012 and 2014with dashed boxes. In particular, the corresponding customized function102 and second customized function 150 of updated summary cell 161 foryear 2012 may use identified subset 185 for parameters using column I96, subset 187 for parameters using column F 140, and subset 188 forparameters using column C 152. Similarly, the corresponding customizedfunction 102 and second customized function 150 of updated summary cell162 for year 2014 may use identified subset 190 for parameters usingcolumn I 96, subset 192 for parameters using column F 140, and subset194 for parameters using column C 152.

The specific embodiments described above have been shown by way ofexample, and it should be understood that these embodiments may besusceptible to various modifications and alternative forms. It should befurther understood that the claims are not intended to be limited to theparticular forms disclosed, but rather to cover all modifications,equivalents, and alternatives falling within the spirit and scope ofthis disclosure.

The techniques presented and claimed herein are referenced and appliedto material objects and concrete examples of a practical nature thatdemonstrably improve the present technical field and, as such, are notabstract, intangible or purely theoretical. Further, if any claimsappended to the end of this specification contain one or more elementsdesignated as “means for [perform] ing [a function]. . . ” or “step for[perform] ing [a function]. . . ,” it is intended that such elements areto be interpreted under 35 U.S.C. 112(f). However, for any claimscontaining elements designated in any other manner, it is intended thatsuch elements are not to be interpreted under 35 U.S.C. 112(f).

The invention claimed is:
 1. A tangible, non-transitory,machine-readable medium, comprising machine-readable instructions that,when executed by one or more processors, cause the one or moreprocessors to: receive a request to modify a summary cell for a set oforganized cells that are automatically grouped by a grouping function ofa spreadsheet application based upon a user indicated commonality,wherein the summary cell is automatically generated in a header row ofthe set of organized cells and presents a summary for the set oforganized cells, and wherein the summary cell is automaticallyassociated with the set of organized cells independent from a userindication of an association with the set of organized cells; inresponse to the request, display a formula editing mode dialog box thatenables editing of a summary cell formula by a user; receive, at theformula editing mode dialog box, an indication of one or more inputentries to edit the summary cell formula, wherein a range of the summarycell formula is limited to the set of organized cells, by thespreadsheet application, independent from a user indication of therange; apply the one or more input entries to the summary cell formulaand evaluate the summary cell formula with the one or more input entriesapplied to obtain a result for the summary cell formula; and present theresult of the summary cell formula in the summary cell.
 2. Themachine-readable medium of claim 1, comprising machine-readableinstructions that, when executed by the one or more processors, causethe one or more processors to: update formulas of summary cells for oneor more relevant ranges to the modified summary cell for additional setsof organized cells and evaluate the updated formulas to obtain resultsfor the summary cells of each of the additional sets of organized cells;and present the results in the summary cells associated with theadditional sets of organized cells.
 3. The machine-readable medium ofclaim 1, wherein: receiving the indication of the one or more inputentries to edit the summary cell, comprises receiving a selection of aparameter for use in the summary cell formula; and applying themodifications to the one or more input entries to the summary cellcomprises: in response to the selection, identify a relevant subset ofthe set of organized cells also associated with the user indicatedcommonality; and apply the relevant subset as the parameter for thesummary cell formula.
 4. The machine-readable medium of claim 3,comprising machine-readable instructions that, when executed by the oneor more processors, cause the one or more processors to provide a firstindication of the relevant subset via a graphical user interface.
 5. Themachine-readable medium of claim 3, comprising machine-readableinstructions that, when executed by the one or more processors, causethe one or more processors to: in response to the selection, identifyadditional relevant subsets of additional sets of organized cells; andapply the additional relevant subsets as parameters for summary cellformulas for summary cells of the additional sets of organized cells. 6.The machine-readable medium of claim 5, comprising machine-readableinstructions that, when executed by the one or more processors, causethe one or more processors to provide a first indication of the relevantsubset via a graphical user interface and provide a second indication ofthe additional relevant subsets via the graphical user interface.
 7. Themachine-readable medium of claim 6, wherein the first indication of therelevant subset comprises a first graphical shading over the relevantsubset and the second indication of the additional relevant subsetscomprises a second graphical shading over the additional relevantsubsets.
 8. The machine-readable medium of claim 7, wherein the firstgraphical shading is relatively darker than the second graphicalshading.
 9. The machine-readable medium of claim 6, wherein the firstindication of the relevant subset comprises a first graphical borderaround the relevant subset and the second indication of the additionalrelevant subsets comprises a second graphical border around theadditional relevant subsets.
 10. The machine-readable medium of claim 9,wherein the first graphical border is relatively darker than the secondgraphical border.
 11. A system, comprising: an electronic display,configured to display a graphical user interface (GUI) comprising anorganized spreadsheet, wherein cells of the organized spreadsheet areorganized into sets of organized cells that are automatically grouped bya grouping function of a spreadsheet application based on a userindicated commonality; and one or more processors, configured to:receive, via a selection in the graphical user interface, a request tomodify a summary cell for a set of organized cells, wherein the summarycell is automatically generated in a header row of the set of organizedcells and presents a summary for the set of organized cells, and whereinthe summary cell is automatically associated with the set of organizedcells independent from a user indication of an association with the setof organized cells; in response to the request, display in the graphicaluser interface a formula editing mode dialog box that enables editing ofa summary cell formula by a user; receive, via selection in the formulaediting mode dialog box, an indication of one or more input entries toedit the summary cell formula, wherein a range of the summary cellformula is limited to the set of organized cells, by the spreadsheetapplication, independent from a user indication of the range; apply theone or more input entries to the summary cell formula and evaluate thesummary cell formula with the one or more input entries applied toobtain a result for the summary cell formula; and present, in thegraphical user interface, the result of the summary cell formula in thesummary cell.
 12. The system of claim 11, wherein the organizedspreadsheet comprises a summary indicator that, in response to selectionof the summary cell, indicates a summary function associated with thesummary cell formula, value of the summary cell, or a combinationthereof.
 13. The system of claim 12, wherein the summary functiondisplays “custom” for the summary cell upon completion of themodification of the summary cell.
 14. The system of claim 11, whereinthe indication of one or more input entries comprises selecting a newsummary function that is different than predefined function optionsprovided by the formula editing mode dialog box.
 15. The system of claim14, wherein the indication of one or more input entries furthercomprises text input entries.
 16. The system of claim 15, wherein theresult in the summary cell comprises an output of the new summaryfunction, the text input entries, or a combination thereof.
 17. Thesystem of claim 11, wherein the formula editing mode dialog box enablesmodification of a summary function associated with the summary cellformula, parameters of the summary cell formula, text, or anycombination thereof.
 18. A method for modifying a summary cell of aspreadsheet application comprising: receiving a request to modify thesummary cell for a set of organized cells that are automatically groupedby a grouping function of a spreadsheet application based upon a userindicated commonality, wherein the summary cell is automaticallygenerated in a header row of the set of organized cells and presents asummary for the set of organized cells, and wherein the summary cell isautomatically associated with the set of organized cells independentfrom a user indication of an association with the set of organizedcells; in response to the request, displaying a formula editing modedialog box that enables editing of a summary cell formula by a user;receiving, at the formula editing mode dialog box, an indication of oneor more input entries to edit the summary cell formula, wherein a rangeof the summary cell formula is limited to the set of organized cells, bythe spreadsheet application, independent from a user indication of therange; applying the one or more input entries to the summary cellformula and evaluating the summary cell formula with the one or moreinput entries applied to obtain a result for the summary cell formula;and presenting the result of the summary cell formula in the summarycell.
 19. The method of claim 18, comprising: updating formulas ofsummary cells for one or more relevant ranges to the modified summarycell for additional sets of organized cells and evaluating the updatedformulas to obtain results for the summary cells of each of theadditional sets of organized cells; and presenting the results in thesummary cells associated with the additional sets of organized cells.20. The method of claim 18 comprising: receiving the indication of theone or more input entries to edit the summary cell, comprises receivinga selection of a parameter for use in the summary cell formula; andapplying the one or more input entries to the summary cell comprises: inresponse to the selection, identifying a relevant subset of the set oforganized cells also associated with the user indicated commonality; andapplying the relevant subset as the parameter for the summary cellformula.